Note: USA TODAY Sports' Paul White, via car, causeway, plane and rail, will eventually reach every major league camp this spring. Follow his exploits on Twitter - @PBJWhite - as he makes his way through the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues before imparting all you didn't know about every team right here.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – They've attacked the problem every which way for 21 seasons now. The Rockies have thrown free-agent cash at it, analyzed everything from statistics to atmospheric conditions, even locked away the baseballs.

If pitching and defense indeed are regaining traction as determining factors in the major leagues, nowhere is it more important than Colorado, where at a mile above sea level offensive distortions have been eternal distractions.

Well, second-year manager Walt Weiss would just like to keep everyone grounded.

Hang around Rockies camp about five minutes and you hear the message. Watch drills and workouts and it doesn't seep in – it swamps you.

Make the other team hit the ball where it can be caught – then, catch it.

Welcome to the new-age Rockies in an increasingly old-school game.

"A few (pitchers) lately have changed their careers at Coors Field," says Weiss, but reversing the meaning the baseball world has come to expect. "They've used Coors Field as the steppingstone and that was unheard of years ago as a pitcher."

So, what exactly is going on in Denver with this pitching and defense stuff?

THE DEFENSE

Who thinks of the Rockies when the discussion gets to the best defensive infields in the game?

"We have an unbelievable defensive infield and defense all around the field," says second baseman D.J. LeMahieu. "We can pick it. Just athletic, strong arms, good fundamentals -- it's fun to be a part of it."

LeMahieu just might be the best part of it, a message that doesn't seem to get over the mountains to the west or across the plains to the east.

He won the team's award for best defensive player last season, a compilation of analytics, scouting and traditional statistics. What makes that remarkable is that Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado won a Gold Glove as a rookie – only the 10th player to do so at any position. And left fielder Carlos Gonzalez also was a Gold Glover.

LeMahieu, who says, "I know my defense got me called up and, really, it's kept me in the big leagues," won the Colorado second base job during last season.

And he ended up leading major league second basemen in range factor per nine innings. Arenado did the same thing at third base and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki – who has two Gold Gloves -- was second in the NL to Atlanta glove whiz Andrelton Simmons.

For these guys, in the ballpark is in range.

"It's one of those things where every night, someone's going to make a great play," LeMahieu says." I think we all have that aggressive approach where everyone wants to make a great play. Instead of trying to make a play, everyone expects to make a great play."

The Rockies have taken pains to address the defense but creating that defensive culture is crucial. Arenado admits he probably deserved the offense-first rap he had when he was drafted in the 2009 second round out of El Toro High School in Lake Forest, Calif.

Scouts wondered if he'd be able to handle third base. The El Toro factor was fitting.

"I guess it was fair when I first was in pro ball," he says. "For a little bit there, I was definitely out of shape, didn't have good movement. I didn't take a lot of consideration into ground balls. Then, I did. I believe I got a lot better to where that question should have been gone."

It's long gone.

"You have to take a lot of pride in your defense," says Arenado, still just 22. "I believe I turned myself into a pretty good player."

And now he's taking the same approach to his offense after a solid but inconsistent (.267 average, .706 OPS) first year.

"Look for my pitches, not worry about their pitches," says Arenado, who can be prone to big, aggressive swings. "Wait for pitches, don't just hit to hit. Always having a game plan, that's the main thing."

And he finds hitting the more difficult side of the game to keep sharp.

"It's a little bit different," he says. "With a guy hitting ground balls, you know exactly what you're going to get most of the time. With hitting, you don't know what pitches are going to do. All in all, you have to be consistent with your work. You have to get better both ways. It's the only way you can survive."

LeMahieu, who's managed a .286 average in his season and a half with Colorado plus contributing 18 stolen bases last year, doesn't try to hide where he likes spending his time.

"In defense, there aren't as many slumps," he says. "For me, it's more fun to work on. Hitting, it's really tough to be consistent. Defense, just try to stay sharp, make all the plays. But there are two sides to the game and if you become one-sided, you're not nearly as valuable."

Arenado already is entrenched at third but LeMahieu knows he'll continue to be pushed by Josh Rutledge, who's come through the system with better offensive credentials but not nearly the defensive coverage.

March 25: Oakland Athletics first baseman Brandon Moss, right, is congratulated by teammate Yoenis Cespedes after hitting a three-run home run in the second inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Phoenix Municipal Stadium
Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports

March 24: Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson crashes into the wall trying to catch a foul ball against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning at Peoria Sports Complex.
Rick Scuteri Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

March 22: Texas Rangers center fielder Michael Choice is high-rived by teammates after hitting a home run in the eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Surprise Stadium.
Joe Camporeale, USA TODAY Sports

Feb. 26: Cleveland Indians right fielder Carlos Moncrief catches a fly ball hit by Cincinnati Reds' Kristopher Negron at the right field wall. The wall displays an advertisement for a homebuilder.
Paul Sancya, AP

Feb. 6: The Arizona Diamondbacks are the first team to report for spring training. Pitcher Brandon McCarthy plays catch on the first day of camp at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale. Ariz.
Tom Tingle, The Arizona Republic

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Weiss' pitcher-changing mantra is ground balls. With those infielders, can you blame him?

He and his staff preach it constantly and, through a combination of teaching their own pitchers and collecting other guys who fit the prototype, it's working.

"That's one of the absolutes," says reliever Rex Brothers. "It started last year. And especially where we pitch, everybody knows that the ball will fly there."

Only Pittsburgh' pitching staff had a better ground ball/fly ball ratio in the majors last season.

Rockies starters Jorge de la Rosa and Jhoulys Chacin finished ninth and 13th, respectively, in the ratio among NL starters. De la Rosa got 1.71 grounders for every fly, Chacin 1.63. They were the team's biggest winners, a combined 30-16 with a 3.48 earned run average.

And they might not be the best at keeping the ball down in this year's rotation.

Tyler Chatwood had a stunning 2.8 ratio. Reduce the 162 innings necessary to qualify for pitching leader boards to 110 and Chatwood was second only to Pittsburgh's Charlie Morton.

Then, the Rockies went out and traded for Brett Anderson, the oft-injured former Oakland pitcher. He was limited to 44 innings last season, but his ground ball/fly ball ratio was 2.96.

In the bullpen, Wilton Lopez, Matt Belisle and newcomer LaTroy Hawkins all had ratios better than de la Rosa and Chacin, plus Brothers and Rob Scahill both were above 1.5.

Combine that with the infield and you see why Chacin was second in the NL to St. Louis's Adam Wainwright in inducing ground-ball double plays.

Chacin struck out a batter an inning when he arrived in the majors nearly five years ago. Now, he's down to less than six strikeouts per nine innings.

"He got really good and really embraced the philosophy of being able to put the ball on the ground," Weiss says.

And is helping put to rest the idea that you just can't pitch in this place.

CUBAN PRIDE

Arenado was born in raised in Southern California but his father was born in Cuba before coming to the USA as a young boy.

The recent emergence of Cubans as impact players in the major leagues – Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes among them, with Jose Abreu of the White Sox ready to make some noise this season – has reminded Arenado of his heritage.

"Oh, yeah, it's a big pride thing," he says. "My family in California and Miami, they pay huge attention and follow how all the Cuban players are doing. It's pretty cool."

He embraces not only his dad's background, but also that of his Puerto Rican mother, though the routes the recent Cuban players have taken to get here adds an extra element.

"My family instilled in me to take a lot of price in it," Arenado says. "We always root for the Cuban players. We know hard it has been for them back home. A lot of the Cuban players are the best ballplayers out there and Cuban people want everyone to know that. It's pretty cool because they weren't allowed to come over for awhile. And now when they shine it means a lot."